To Cause the Avalanche
by Two Owled Friends
Summary: Hermione has realized what the fandom has known since basically forever: the wizarding world is backwards. She takes it upon herself to fix things. The thing is, muggles start to suspect the existence of wizards, a growing movement based on fear calls for muggle extermination, and the wizarding world is resistant to any type of change. It looks like they're headed for another war.
1. To Convince

Hermione stepped into the room, tentatively looking around. The room wasn't dark; light from windows set high in the walls filtered through the potion-fume filled air. It reminded Hermione of the Hogwarts potions lab that she had spent seven years of her life in. It wasn't surprising, the student lab was just across the hall, after all. With memories of the Hogwarts potions lab came memories of Severus Snape.

Hermione took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She walked to the stone archway without a door. She had been here two times already, and the churchlike effect of this archway struck her every time.

In the small room stood a man, his back turned to the archway, inspecting the wall of ingredients.

"I told you I want nothing to do with you," he said without turning around.

"Darius," said Hermione in a mockingly sweet voice, "surely we can find something to agree on?"

"No."

Hermione took a step closer. "You must understand, Darius, I won't be satisfied with 'no'."

Darius turned around now. His face was dark, frowning. "I've told you often enough, Granger, the answer is no, and it will stay no. I am an academic, not a politician, and I have no wish to become one any time soon."

She tilted her head pensively. "Hogwarts does always seem to hire the most reclusive potions masters, doesn't it?" She shrugged slightly. "Then again, reclusive doesn't mean uninvolved in politics. Take Severus Snape as an example." Darius didn't like being compared to the late potions master, and Hermione knew it. Snape seemed to have acquired an almost mythical status after his true role in the war had come out. She had always wondered about his true involvement in the war - the memories he had given Harry could just as well have been fake, Hermione was sure Snape was skilled enough to fake memories. It hadn't mattered if Harry knew: if he won, he'd make sure the world knew about Snape's heroics, if Harry lost, no one would be the wiser because Harry would be dead.

Darius's half-growl drew her out of her thoughts. "I want nothing to do with your little adventure group."

Hermione had expected a bit more of a reaction from him when she had mentioned Severus Snape. "I expected a bit more gratitude from you of all people, Darius dear." She smiled sweetly at him. "If I remember correctly, my "adventure group" as you put it so nicely, has done you a great favour."

He gave a small snort. "No, Granger, that was all in your head. I was doing fine on my own."

"Oh?"

"I was." Darius breathed out annoyedly. "Now leave, please."

Hermione drew up a stool and sat down. She crossed her legs and placed her hands on her knees, perfectly at ease. "I'm afraid that isn't possible." She gestured to another stool. "Please, take a seat." Darius made no move to sit down. "I insist," said Hermione with an icy smile. Finally he sat down on a chair. "Now. As I've said before, 'no' is not the answer I want. However, you won't be of any use to me if I'm forcing you into this." She knew that wasn't true. She knew that fear was almost always a better motivator than love. But she also knew that resentment combined with not enough fear was bound to create spies. "I don't think you understand, Darius." She turned to the archway and flicked her wand at it, casting a silencing spell. She leaned forward. "I don't want to be involved in politics either. I'm as much of an academic as you. The thing is, the wizarding world is hopelessly backwards. I grew up in the muggle world. I know what muggles are capable of. They can communicate with each other by pushing a few buttons. I know, we have magic. But casting spells requires energy. You know why we have to portkey in little steps. They have tools that kill by pulling a trigger. Anything that magic can do, muggles can do at least as well, without using up any magical energy."

"So? The muggles won't find us. We have anti-Muggle charms."

"And those will only work so long as the wizarding world is aware of when muggles might be around." Hermione stood up with a sigh. "But I see that you're a hopeless case. Pity, really. I could really use someone like you. Someone stubborn and intelligent." From her bag, Hermione pulled a book. "You might be interested in this. I always find muggle history fascinating." It was a large volume of human inventions throughout history. She put it down carefully on a potions table.

Darius ignored her and as soon as she had stood up, he stood up as well. He turned back to his wall of ingredients, not sparing a glance for Hermione or the book.

"I am always glad to see you, Darius, if you change your mind," she said as she took down the silencing spell on the archway and left.

Luna had shown her a few tunnels to enter and leave Hogwarts undetected, and Hermione made her way to a statue of an unrecognizable wizard.

Hermione was sure she had piqued Darius's curiosity. Now she only had to wait until he came to her.

 **Disclaimer:** Of course, I'm only playing with JKR's amazing creations, I don't own Harry Potter.

 **A/N: So... here's my first foray into multi-chapter stories. Apparently this is what happens when I listen to The Joshua Tree straight through... fascinating, isn't it?**

 **I don't think this is really the strongest of starts, but I just adore writing Hermione being condescending. Is that weird?**

 **Please review!**


	2. To Notice

The security guard leaned back, his chair squeaking. Like everything in the room, the chair was old and would probably break within the next year. The only things that offered contrast were the sleek monitors completely covering one of the walls.

The monitors showed blurry, green-tinged images. There was no-one in the hallways at this time. All the staff had gone home and any scientists that had stayed until two in the morning would be holed up in their labs, Stanley knew.

A dark figure appeared on one of the screens. Stanley saw it, but thought nothing of it. Realization hit him. He looked at the monitor again, and noticed the definitely human figures properly. He leaned forward. There was definitely someone there. If Stanley didn't know better, he would swear they had just appeared there.

Shaking his head, Stanley turned to another monitor and flicked the controls. It was the monitor connected to the camera directly above the back emergency exit, which was the only entrance to the facility at this hour. And the person had appeared in the middle of the front foyer, probably the furthest place away from the back exit. The film played backwards at double speed, but Stanley found nothing. The door had stayed closed the whole time.

He turned back to the monitor connected to the foyer camera. The person was still there, right in the spot they had appeared. He rewound that camera as well, just up to the moment where the foyer was empty and let it play again. Nothing, nothing, nothing, and then there was a dark spinning blur. It appeared only a second and then the figure was standing in the foyer.

Stanley made sure all the recordings were backed up. He picked up the phone and dialled the number four.

It didn't even ring once before it was picked up.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter, obviously, I'm just playing with JKR's creations.


	3. To Find Out

Hermione stepped outside her building. On the corner of the block was a telephone box. Hermione didn't have a telephone in her flat. Wards were more important than the convenience of a telephone, at least until someone figured out how to make telephones and magic more compatible. With the way things were going, that someone would probably be her, Hermione thought wryly. She headed to the telephone box.

Inside, she punched in a phone number. It had been a few years since she had called this number, but Hermione did not forget things easily.

It rang, once, twice, three times. The receiver was cold against her ear. It rang five times before it was picked up.

"Julie Pierce, MION Lab."

"Hello, Julie, it's Hermione," said Hermione to her cousin.

"Hermione! We haven't talked in a while. Is something wrong?" said Julie, worry tinging her voice.

"Well... not exactly," said Hermione and fiddled with her scarf.

"Ok," said Julie. She never had been one to talk a lot. She was seven years older than Hermione, and Hermione had never really had much to do with her. "I'm at the lab right now, it's not really a good time, except if it's super important."

"I'm thinking of taking a trip up north. Can I stay at your place a night or two?" There was no way she was going to get Julie to take three days off just to visit Hermione in London for a reason Hermione couldn't share. So Hermione would have to visit Julie

"Oh." Julie paused a moment. "Sure. I'm at the lab most of the time anyways, there isn't anyone at home you could bother."

"Thanks a lot, Julie. Bye."

"Bye."

Hermione hung up the phone and left the telephone box. There was good reason Hermione and Julie hadn't spoken in a while. Hermione couldn't be contacted except by letter, preferably delivered by owl. It was another choice she had had to make: have an address that any muggle could find or have proper anti-muggle wards that kept all magic hidden from any muggle who might happen to see a flash of light from her window or see an owl flying towards the house. But now Hermione needed her cousin's connections in the scientific community.

Hermione spent a day at her cousin's home and only a few hours, late at night, with her cousin.

She took a portkey to the courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron. She tapped the brick on the wall and was granted entry to Diagon Alley. With a twitch of her wand she cast a notice-me-not charm on herself and walked briskly towards Knockturn Alley.

She stopped in front of a small shop, just on the border of Knockturn Alley and Diagon Alley. It wasn't quite dingy, but it was old and rundown. The door's brown-green paint was peeling. The round brass knob was dented and stuck when Hermione turned it. When she stepped in, the smell of potions hit her like a brick wall.

"Eliss?" she called into the dark.

Something crashed in the backroom. A door behind the counter opened and bright light flooded out.

"Hermione!" said Eliss. She was a small woman who always seemed to be doing twenty different things at once.

Hermione nodded curtly to her. "I need to find Draco."

"He's not here today. Sorry." Eliss shook her head.

Hermione sucked in her breath in annoyance. "Some things have come up, but I need to talk to Malfoy first. As it stands, we're all meeting at five tonight. Can you close up early?"

"Sure."

"I'll leave you to your potions, then. May I apparate directly from your shop?"

"Of course," said Eliss.

Hermione cast a disillusionment charm on herself in addition to the notice-me-not charm she had cast in the courtyard and apparated away. She appeared on the side walk of a typical suburban street, not dissimilar to Privet Drive. The house in front of which she had appeared did not stand out from the other houses. It had the same perfectly kept lawn, the same perfectly swept driveway, even the same gray or silver or black car.

She made her way to the front door and rang the bell.

The door swung open. There stood Draco Malfoy. She had asked him a long time ago why he had chosen such a plain, muggle place to live, didn't Malfoys like splendor and opulence? He had replied that no-one would come looking for him here. Nobody expected Draco Malfoy of all people to live in a plain house on a suburban, muggle street.

"Hermione," he said. "A pleasure as always. How can I help you?"

Hermione looked at him calmly for a moment. "Dear Draco, we may have an emergency." When he just raised his eyebrows, she added, "Please let me in."

Draco stepped away from the door and let her in.

"So, this emergency of yours, can it wait until we have tea?"

"If we must," said Hermione.

He led her down the short hallway and into the kitchen. He set a kettle of water to boil and flicked his wand at it. It boiled in less than a minute. Two cups jumped from the shelf, collected a tea bag each on the way down, settled on the counter, and the kettle poured water into each cup. Draco collected them, sat down across from Hermione at the kitchen table, and handed her one of the cups.

"I visited Julie yesterday," said Hermione. "You know why I originally wanted to talk to her, we'll eventually need scientists. However, she informed me of some very worrying rumors." Hermione paused, tilting her head and smiling sweetly at Draco. "There are rumors flying about the labs that security caught someone on camera who just appeared in the front foyer. Mystifying, isn't it? As far as I know, muggles have not yet developed teleportation yet."

"It was obviously a wizard," said Draco.

"But was it simply a mistaken apparition or did they plan to appear at MION?" said Hermione.

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me, I'm just playing with JK Rowling's amazing creations.**

 **Please review!**


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